PS1 Games That Hold Up Brilliantly

[@CulturedVultures]

THE 50 BEST PS1 GAMES EVER EVER: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q52QfZJjn7ysZrM

[@thetrashpanda9085]

Started a replay of Xenogears recently and that is a PS1 game that definitely holds up today

[@garrettgibbons]

Came here to say the same thing. It’s somehow better than I remembered, and I loved it back in the day.

[@returnofmerenguespersempre]

Symphony of the night, koudelka, dino crisis, parasite eve 2, iss pro evolution 2, star ocean, silent hill, ape escape, anna kournikovas tennis.

[@Sacr1fIces]

Hala Madrid

[@returnofmerenguespersempre]

@@Sacr1fIces y nada mas

[@ryanhefner2011]

Ape Escape 2 did NOT age well :'( Ape Escape 1 was lightning in a bottle unfortunately.

[@michaeldouglas4000]

Breath of Fire 3 is one of my favorite PS1 games.

[@TimedRelease]

Same! I think it's the RPG I've replayed the most over the years.

[@Dldavis1530]

Mine too!!! We need a remake finally!

[@khmergodhobbies]

3 was my favorite bof game and one of my favorite jrpgs

[@AnomalyVoid]

Absolutely but that desert was a bitch though, glad I found out it was a mistranslation issue later. I spent so long trying to figure the desert out I still remember to this day and I played around a year after release.

[@ShaneONeill777]

I was shit at passing the desert as a kid. I got past one time only to be abruptly smoked by manmo

[@EugeneKurlikin]

You’re killing it mate. Great content everyday 👏

[@ChaoticHoly]

This just reminds me how stupid modern game companies are today compared to "Back in MY day!" Yes, there was a lot of slop back in the 90's and early 00's. Compared to today, however, where nearly every major "AAAA" game is a garbage scow fire...

[@Stephen_Eee]

Sir, you speak the Truth!!!

[@TrevorHamberger]

I'm a firm believer that working within the limits of the old consoles is what brought out the brilliance and the designers of these games. That and it was a bit of a gold rush market

[@quest2782]

And most of it is soulless garbage .

[@shanenice5380]

u get couple good modern games.only one thing.they keep remake them.u could tell they running out ideas.alot old games I liked more then modern.

[@BebehCookieIcecream]

Is that a koudelka pic? Nice

[@Alloveck]

In a better timeline, Dragon's Dogma maintained the colorful and stylized art direction of Breath of Fire 2 and 3 instead of going with such blander fantasy realism, the Valkyrie Profile series continued getting a good sequel now and then instead of falling straight off a cliff after Silmeria, and Vagrant Story would have at least gotten a very faithful to its original art direction remake by now.

[@_Tizoc_]

in a just world matsuno's vision for ff12 would have been fully realized and vaan and panelo would just be side characters

[@kog_txt]

I dunno if you consider Elysium a good sequel.

[@Alloveck]

@@kog_txt Haven't played it yet to say for sure, but what I've seen doesn't lead me to expect it is, unfortunately. I also didn't care for Covenant of the Plume. And not even simply because of the genre switch, I just plain disliked it by tactical RPG standards as well.

[@kog_txt]

@@Alloveck I was gonna say the same thing pretty much. I feel obligated to play it cause VP, but I haven't touched it with a ten foot pole. I didn't like CotP as much because it was as Hrist said: "Mortal Profile" She'll get her game....someday..........

[@jwill7998]

The Spyro trilogy is still great, even with the remakes existing.

[@dole6182]

Yeah you’re right!

[@redmage8719]

Indeed. 😊

[@thrilleex]

Soul Reaver is getting a remake, what a time to be undead.

[@35milesoflead]

Soul Reaver 1 and 2 are getting a remaster release Dec 10th. On Steam and GOG.

[@mr.selfimprovement3241]

I believe the remaster bundle is being handled by the same team did the Tomb Raider I-III Remaster last year. It's a awesome collection, and when you hit the select button on controller, you can switch to the OG graphics (even 30fps) and music on the fly but in 1080p/1440p/4k. Hit select again, and you get the buttery smooth Framerate and updated graphics and sound. I love that collection, so I'm expecting the same brilliant experience replaying Soul Reaver 1 & 2 in a few months.

[@35milesoflead]

@@mr.selfimprovement3241 Aspyr are handling the remaster. They have had complete access to the original source code and models, according to the Playstation.Blog post I saw a few days back.

[@erakfishfishfish]

He’s like, doubly undead though. Weirdly, that doesn’t make him alive again.

[@RippahRooJizah]

​@erakfishfishfish He became undead, then he became dead-der. Then he became a sword. What an unlife to live where you can say you committed murder-suicide with yourself using yourself as the weapon.

[@valentine12]

These series are super important for anyone who is building a rom list for their retro handheld. Knowing what's good saves you from sorting through 1000's of games.

[@pharmcat8484]

Final Fantasy Tactics is Top 3 Final Fantasy. Also spritework > realism.

[@davidsentanu7836]

True. Sprite-based PS1 games tend to be better looking than their 3D polygon counterpart. Too bad the sprites were so low-res they broke when played in high-res TV. We need CRTs to be enjoying their full glory. I hope AI tech can be perfected to up-res those old spriteworks. They work somewhat incredible for photorealistic images, but not pixel arts.

[@jimmytheradical]

7, 9, tactics

[@TimBitten]

Tenchu 1 & 2 are still super fun Parasite Eve remains a massive hit Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre rule Soul of the Samurai is awesome And… Suikoden 1 & 2 are the GOATs!!

[@takafumiarisawa70]

You should check Shinobido: Way Of The Ninja for the PS2, I think you'll like it a lot.

[@Razorblade1812]

16:48 That game has always remained my very OWN one and ONLY Croc: Legend of the Gobbos! From having played the demo back in July 1998 via the Euro Demo 07/98 demo disc, to getting the full version not too long after from a friend of one of my mom's, from whom I got so many games that I always remember forever! This, Tekken 3 and Ridge Racer Type 4, they were my essential Namco Three!

[@mjdf122]

PS1 RPGs hold up brilliantly

[@DarkINsides06]

No one ever talks about Tomba, played it once and never got to beat it, still want to finish it.

[@DarkINsides06]

@@noop9k I'm not seeing the other video could you share the link?

[@DarkINsides06]

Award winning personality🖕🏽

[@DarkINsides06]

@@noop9k it cost nothing to not be an asshole but you succeed in that abundantly, you miserable troll non human being.

[@fraglsnitz]

Pretty sure that got a remake very recently.

[@Fifthgen]

Digimon World is a unique game filled with beautiful graphics and serene music.

[@ushilives3]

Klonoa is an amazing PS1 game. I discovered it few years ago and played it on my PSP, never heard of it until then. MGS has aged amazing too.

[@BA-vw2kx]

Recently did another play through of MGS and man it’s holds up beyond well. Made me miss the older writing style of games. New games seem so shallow and poorly written. Maybe I’m just getting old lol

[@ushilives3]

@@BA-vw2kx I'm going to keep backups of retro ROMs as future might be trickier to get these retro games without having to keep paying for it for a newer console

[@johnmccombe6342]

I can't believe tekken 3 was left off this list. That is criminal!

[@julianblake8385]

They have it in another video, stop over reacting.

[@raddastronaut]

“More secrets than an island full of famous people”. 😖😅

[@scizorunleashed]

I still play Rayman, just teaching my kids how to play it now. That game still looks beautiful

[@Mantosasto]

Didn't realize there was a second video when I commented on the previous one. I'll mention Skullmonkeys, Medievil, Parasite Eve 1 and 2, RE3 Nemesis, Megaman Legends and Dino Crisis again. Those are all amazing to this day.

[@foursixnine]

14:25 - The Blood Sin tattooed on my back is a testament of how great Vagrant’s Story is. Over 1000 hours across years spent on that game, never getting tired!

[@seancoxwell832]

final fantasy tactics is my favorite game of all time, it was so good

[@F1ghtGam3r]

I always comment "Bloody Roar" on videos on werebeasts from various mythology KZbin channels

[@vsanz4758]

Vandal Hearts is usually overlooked and still holds up pretty well, one of the best tactics rpgs I have ever played

[@DanPeters182]

I am actually currently Jerry Rushing Breath Of Fire 4 right now. It's such a shame they didn't do more of a dragon quest thing with that series and try to keep it as close to what works as possible.

[@carmawarlock8455]

I was wondering where Castlevania SOTN was but i think it was in the previous video. I bought a port of SOTN around when RDR2 came out. I was playing both at the same time. My gf never said anything about RDR2, but she loved how SOTN looked, especially the big moon in the background

[@erakfishfishfish]

10:16 Thanks for the mention! For the record, it’s pronounced “e-rack”, not “erica”. However, adding 5 fishes at the end is perfectly acceptable!

[@Grifter_Reacts]

Even if it's not the popular choice FFVIII still has a special place in my little gamer heart. Among other games FFVIII gave me a push, another incentive to learn English, I wanted to read and understand all the dialogs and texts better even if at times I needed my English to French dictionary. In my opinion most 3d games wouldn't hold up as well as 2d and cell shaded games can just by the way the graphics are made so a lot of fighting and rpg games should probably still be fine. A game I played years later and liked was the 2d action rpg Star Ocean: Second Story.

[@naenre21]

Parasite Eve should be on this list...it's still amazing.

[@slarbiter]

Yes yes yes. The music, story, scenes, gameplay in Parasite Eve are amazing

[@investinfastudios]

Best ps1 game of all time.

[@NintenDub]

Ps1 was the best console ever. It still rivals things that came after, but it also did what had come before, so so well.

[@badacid7388]

We neeeeed a Xenogears remake.

[@TXFDA]

Honestly, I feel like a HUGE portion of the PS1 library still holds up today. 3D Platformers CAN be hit or miss sometimes, since that was still early 3D days. And for JRPGs you really have to enjoy that old school turn based grindy JRPG style, but if you do, there's a ridiculous amount of great JRPGs, and even more Japanese exclusives if you speak the language or can find a fan-translation. Like, I have 267 PS1 games on my PS Vita, and the only reason I stopped there is because I ran out of space and don't wanna drop the money for a 1tb micro sd card. I wouldn't claim every single one in that list holds up, or even was good to begin with, some of it's nostalgia. But the majority of the games I have I WOULD definitely consider worth playing in 2024. You also may consider it less if you lump games together, like the 4 Twisted Metal games, or Tony Hawks, or the 3 Spyros/Crashs. But still, that's a lot of good games, and I'm still regularly finding games I missed. --------------- As for my own personal favorite PS1 games, just quickly browsing through my Vita: 2 Xtreme, Colin McRae Rally 2.0, the Crash Bandicoot trilogy, Destruction Derby, Fighting Force, Final Fantasy 7, Gran Turismo 2, Hot Wheels Turbo Racing, Jet Moto 2, Loaded, Motor Toon Grand Prix, Need for Speed 3, Ridge Racer Revolution, Tekken 3, Tenchu, Test Drive 4/5/6, Theme Park, Tony Hawk 1-4, WWF Smackdown 2.

[@chrisgee8441]

I know people LOVE bof 3 the most, but man… 4 has remained my favorite, and is up there in my all time favorites. The game is a vibe! I do miss the unique dragon forms though!

[@AnimeBrosAMV]

Klonoa looks like it has so much Character, gotta love 90s platformers.

[@KnightOfNight3405]

It's even better than the remaster.

[@Rpodnee]

The ps1 obviously had trillions of rpgs, but when I think of really fun ps1 games Ape Escape always comes to mind. Plus the soundtrack was full of absolute bangers.

[@BlarmyArmy07]

Don't leave out Gundam Battle Assault 2. Probably the best looking fighter on ps1. But it did come out way late in the consoles life cycle (2002)

[@hamedameri9910]

AWWW THE NOSTALGIA, I was in iran when i played most of those games, specially oddworld when i saw their hands with three fingers bit like my right hand im missing my two middle digits so that moon scene got me goooood

[@adamlach6572]

My own personal list goes something like that - well before: i don't care about visuals that much, and also i think good but not standard for today controls shouldn't be an issue. Same goes for problems with stuff like collision detection IF the rest of the game is great. So in no particular order: - Gran Turismo 2 (apart from graphics as good as ever, personally my favourite game of all time. - MGS - in my opinion the most ballanced and well though out mgs game, where everything just fits together. Might as well be done in 2d (ghost babel anyone?) so it's not groundbreaking as many says but it's just perfectly delivered concept. - Spyro 2 and 3 - awesome platformers that hold up well in every regard even visuals. - THPS2 (but also 3 and 4 in large part) as above, still great and even looks good. - Syphon Filter trillogy - for me the best TPS games of all time, very unique gameplay tightly connected with it's control scheme, amazing level design and freedom. Top notch atmosphere. - CMR 2.0 - to this day one of the best rally games, visuals unseen on psx with the damage model that looks impressive even now. - Medal of Honor (especialy Underground) - Goldeneye but perfected. Great gameplay, and the best atmosphere of any WW2 shooter. Underground is my favourite ww2 fps. - Winning Eleven 2002 - again my favourite football game of all time, and i've learned about it like a year ago at most. - Fifa 2001 - at first seems archaic and stupid, well it's not. Arcadey but sooo fun and engaging. - Colony Wars series - space sims that look like million dollars (especialy red sun), and control like a charm. Impressive and really really awesome to play. - Klonoa - one of the best 2.5d platfomers. - Harry Potter games - i know their meme status but i'm of the opinon these are actually great and really charming adventure games. On the weak side when it comes to that list but still really fun to play. - Touge Max 2 and Touge Max G - really good arcade racing/drift games with unique but fun driving model. - Choro Q - car rpg? Awesome game. - Tekken 3 - it's perfect if you like tekken - Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha - personally my favourite SF game, and my favourite game of this genre. One of few games in the genre where just pressing buttons is stupid idea. - CTR - better than mario karts, looks like magic play like one too. - Castlevania Symphony of The Night - probably the easiest recomendation seeing how this game might just as well came out today as it is and not loose any bit of it's quality. Maybe i went overboard with HP and Touge games but this is my list. And there are PLENTY more but these reflect my taste in games. If i had to force someone to play 4 titles/series i would say give a try to old Gran Turismo 2 even though it looks like crap (not in terms of style which is top notch), play old MoH games, play Syphon Filter and try Colony Wars.

[@Sacr1fIces]

Play Winning Eleven 3: The Final Version which is the Japanese definitive version of ISS 98 Pro, It’s the greatest football game of all time, I’ve been playing this game for 3 decades and it still doesn’t get old.

[@NewfieNewbie80]

This is pretty much the backlog of games I am currently revisiting from my childhood. It’s blowing my mind right now actually.

[@MrMonoYT]

FF8 was my first Final Fantasy game, and the others I've played just didn't capture as much magic for me as that first experience.

[@Trixiethegoldenwitch]

Couple of things in that thumbnail I'd like to hold up...

[@flazryuful]

Glad I recognized the character in the thumbnail and watched. Own about half of these and played about half of what's left as well.

[@jinchoung]

the main detractor for me with vagrant story when it launched is i asked the same question then as i ask now whenever i see pedro pascal on a red carpet - "wtf are you wearing?"

[@CulturedVultures]

Yes, the Evercade was a start after all...😁

[@itsukishuun]

Brave fencer musashi, alundra 1/2, mana series, Legend of Dragoon, Tales of destiny 1/2, harvest moon, Digimon world 2/3, suikoden 1/2 and megamen x 3-7. There's probably a few more that i can't think of atm but PS1 has a lot of memorable titles. Could be the nostalgia talking though.

[@Namek_pd]

Very nice vídeo 💪 I have an odd ball to add to the list of games that hold up, or at least surprised me recently on PS1. The No Fear Downhill mountain Biking game released on PS1, this game as no right to be this good. Only played it this year(2024) and it's was a pleasant surprise.

[@hazelXin223]

I have BoF3 on my phone. Literally my favorite aesthetic of all time

[@hazelXin223]

I also have Valkyrie profile on my phone xD

[@KanameYuuki]

I can't believe 2004 was 56 years ago, time sure flies.

[@RetroWez]

There’s some great cheats you can do in the Tony Hawks games as well!

[@Morraak]

Legend of Dragoon is still incredibly fun today. Plus those pre-rendered backgrounds are beautiful.

[@kungpaocanine]

"Final Fantasy Tactics", and the updated game "War of the Lions" are top tier. Since you mentioned it, "T'ai Fu" is also a pretty fun game with the mechanics of mastering a "form" after beating a master. 2025 in a couple of months, and we still haven't had any news on a proper Dino Crisis 2 sequel. smh

[@blungus]

"more secrets than an island full of famous people" Damn that's a bar

[@BrianJNelson]

FF Tactics was a BRILLIANT game. Thank you for recognizing that awesome game. Edit: And thank you for alerting me to the other similar games. I will be checking those out! Second edit: They DID release a version of this game (with a slightly altered name, as I recall) in the Apple store back around 2012 (or shortly thereafter). I have an old iPad 2 I can't get to update anymore but it has a version of this game on it. It's much harder to play (in my opinion) because it was all touch and the controls weren't great. Unlike the PS1 version which I played several times, I never made it through the Apple version because of the controls.

[@fanglord13]

Final Fantasy Tactics, Breath of Fire, Valkyrie Profile slightly better/different on the PSP, but all are amazing. Oddworld was such good fun and the setting was so well crafted, got to give this a re-run Never played FFIX, my favourite Final Fantasy is VIII, especially the best intro music of all time, but understand the criticism. Never played Vagrant Story or any Klonoa game, will give them a run on an emulator when I get a chance. In the same vein as FF Tactics, I cut my teeth on Vandal Hearts series on PS1, still holds up today.

[@Dante_S550_Turbo]

I found Vagrant Story earlier this year and it blew me away that it was a ps1 title. The creator Yasumi Matsuno made FF tactics, and then post Vagrant Story made FFXII. You can see some of his improvements from Vagrant Story in it. Similar range mapping orbs or domes and battle system. Yasumi Matsuno has recently had remakes of his Ogre series so here's hoping we might see a Vagrant Story remake soon.

[@alexsm3882]

Vagrant Story is currently on the back burner, and it's been there ever since I ran into the first lizardmen in the game. The combat was driving me bloody insane.

[@cerocero2817]

I think Tombi! deserves to be on this list too.

[@jaytee-v5909]

Wow. Just saw Jersey Devil in the beginning, it was one of our first PS1 games during our childhood.

[@oldmonkboy]

Great list, would've been great if Tomba was mentioned

[@AzureCrook]

I am aware the title is PS1 but to add the peak perfection that is FF Tactics.. PSP version has a more faithful text translation & rework that really does the game justice, especially if you have already played the game before, just worth the mention since even the sound is superior to the PSX version ❤ Hope to bring joy to someone

[@tomdarbyshire1703]

Some amazing choices on this list!

[@HelloWorld-up4of]

I started playing BoF III some months ago and it is very very nice

[@nicktipton5675]

I haven't played BOF 3 this decade, thanks for the reminder!

[@Kekeripo]

Future Cop LAPD and Trap Gunner are two games that are just amazing and saldy not many people talk about them.

[@griver007able]

Well back then its all about passion. Nowadays, it's about engagement, stats, profits, and virality.

[@WeWillAlwaysHaveVALIS]

Regarding FFIX, I am going to be the contrarian one here and say that if you are looking to replaying it's majesty then you will be much better served with playing the PC version. There's an absolute godtier set of mods available for the game that amongst other things, bring it up to a modern day resolution, replace the background artwork with beautifully done upscaled versions (I seriously cannot state to you just how good these look in comparison), similar levels of excellence for the game's 3D assets and a whole heap of other things to make the game play akin to your memories of it and not the reliance on the nostalgia aspect of it.

[@RJ-cq8dd]

Thanks for mentioning me! I wouldn't recommend the hd remakes of Oddworld though. They play quite differently and not for the better imo.

[@WARLORD626]

Folklore is an underated masterpiece. And Bloody Roar was always top tier.

[@wirlogx]

Megaman Legends 2, has dual stick controls and you aim ans shoot with the shoulder buttons, just like modern games. Also has a story telling like a Saturday morning cartoon. That game in particular to me has aged extremely well

[@mikeoakeshart3823]

Comparing Final Fantasy Tactics with Unicorn Overlord is like comparing Sid Meier's Civilization game with Age of Empires.

[@elone3997]

Yup, Soul Reaver was...big...as in..cavernous! I've got a dismal sense of direction anyways, so it was never gonna end well for me from a completion point of view.. Great visuals with that brooding atmosphere - I remember the sound track audio being really good too, with lots of screams and weird ambient sound effects. I miss that grey slab of tech. 👍

[@StewNWT]

FFTactics is timeless and has the best soundtrack in the series - and I am a hardcore FFIV stan

[@BA-vw2kx]

Great video!

[@Dante_S550_Turbo]

Digimon World 1 & 3 are timeless classics. It is nice to have the ability to speed up on emulator though.

[@mekman4]

Great Stuff, as always!

[@geovannewashingtonashwood]

Oh god, I really love Breath of Fire, FFT, Vagrant Story and Klonoa. Recently I played the remastered version of Klonoa games on Ps5. Still want a remaster or even remake for BOF games a Vagrant Story.

[@themoonupstairs]

Oddworld is one of the best games everrrr

[@alguira]

Vagrant Story and Soul Reaver really deserve a remake. I would sweep my card so fast the reader won't catch it

[@emi_later]

I just started playing Vagrant Story with the fanmade AI Upscale texture pack and using Lossless Scaling to generate extra frames to make it look 60fps, and it's truly amazing looking. I hope SE gives it a remaster properly

[@craigsteyntheartistcraig3592]

Never understood how when I mentioned Vagrant Story, no one knew what I was talking about.

[@RobotacularRoBob]

Final Fantasy VII is still the best PSone FF game. VIII was too “real” yet bonkers and IX was too murky medieval. VII was practically perfect.

[@geovannewashingtonashwood]

A game that still looks stunning is Legend of Mana.

[@johnnymontalvo5620]

I’m dying to replay vagrant story, but can’t find it anywhere! Ugh.

[@briankaler6147]

Vagrant story is such a pretty game considering it’s not final fantasy and on the ps1. Gameplay wise it can be hard to swallow because so many other action rpgs had better mechanics. Needing to hold on to a dozen different weapons because the game automatically makes your favorites suck more over time was a weird idea.

[@caseymckay5660]

Valkyrie Profile looks like it was a big inspiration for Indivisible

[@Gliiitch305]

I’d have to argue that Vice city had the best soundtrack although the Tony hawks were extremely good

[@christopherday7091]

psst1 - Great stuff as always, and Soul Reaver finally returning makes my heart full again

[@CulturedVultures]

you cracked the code! Please add your email to your KZbin profile on here (kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYCYi52Jm7iEa9k), then email us at infoatculturedvulturesdotcom to claim your prize

[@jihlnabaat6329]

Thousand Arms still best ps1 and has aged like fine wine and scanlines @ 30% helps them too

[@Paledomain]

vanguard bandits/epica stella is still FIRE

[@OreWaLavai]

Breathe of fire needs to be revitalised. Remakes of 1-4 can take my money.

[@halolemonhalo]

Growlanser is an amazing PS1 game. Good game design is timeless. ^-^

[@hiimakeboxes]

I’ve been deep diving on ps1 for a while and I think breathe of fire 4 is the best looking game on the consol

[@nordinreecendo512]

I feel you can't have a list like this without bringing up Threads of Fate.

[@robnagy1408]

Man I would love a vagrant story remake with the combat tweaked to not be timing based. Everything about that game was incredible but it was so hard for me to get the combat right

[@evandavis5223]

The only better licensed soundtrack in a game would be Brutal Legend, but that's only if you're a metal fan. Meanwhile, EVERYONE who played PS1 in the 90s listened to the Tony Hawk soundtrack.

[@Guilherme36594]

FF IX is my favorite FF to this day. The first i played and i have a big love for this one. I ended 3 times and probably will end again since i need to get some trophies for Retro achievements.

[@LynMa80]

I wonder how Heart of Darkness aged, it was gorgeous at the time, in my memories, despite its really long development.

[@GreenOne01]

Tony Hawk pro skater 1 & 2 on the ps1 offers a definitively better experience than the remakes. The cash grabbing IP reboot completely ignored what made those games so great. People who play through this only on the remastered version are seriously missing out.

[@iamabot607]

Id add Alundra to the list. Some of the best sprite work on the system.